The Actions of a Coward
by NightFayestorm
Summary: Fenris left Hawke after their one amazing night and she takes up with Anders, only to have Fenris return.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age, I just adore it.**

**Premise: As in the game, Fenris left Hawke after their one night together. Hawke takes up with Anders, looking for solace, when Fenris realizes he can't live without her.  
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><p>"Anders! I know you're here, you bloody mage!" Fenris growls as he stalks up the stairs toward Hawke's bedroom.<p>

A disoriented Anders appears partially-clad in the doorframe, blocking his entrance. Hawke scrambles to get dressed in the back. A strong fist across his jaw knocks him back.

"You think you could…? Just like that? What about it, _mage_?" He punches him again. "Have you ever loved someone so much it _hurt_?"

"Yes," Anders hissed, "I love _her_ that much." He straightens himself up and gets ready to dodge another attack.

"Stop it, both of you!" Hawke comes hurrying up from behind, her green eyes showing concern for the two angry men.

"Yes, but will you ever love her _first_, or is it _your cause_ that comes first?" The question is rewarded with the stiff crackle of an electric bolt unleashed from Ander's fingertips, pushing Fenris back against the wall.

"I said stop it!"

"Answer my question!" Anders resorts to a blow from his fist in response, surprisingly strong for a mage.

Fenris lies across the floor, bloodied from the punch and weak from the electricity. Anders' eyes flash blue and he looks like an animal who has just caught his prey. Hawke reaches her arms around Anders, but Justice throws her away and she falls to the floor painfully. Fenris quickly stands and tackles the mage for hurting the woman, landing two stiff blows before her cries cause him to falter. Justice takes the opportunity and attacks Fenris again until Hawke's crying pulls Anders back and away from Fenris.

The two men square off with each other, both bloodied from the fight. Fenris dares to break his stance to kneel and help Hawke to her feet. She can't help but notice that Anders did not do the same. She carefully takes a position between them and speaks to them in the calmest, most civil tone she can manage.

She turns to Fenris first. "Fenris, what are you _doing_ here?"

"This _abomination_ does not deserve you. I came to stop him before he hurt you. Ask him, he won't deny that he'll hurt you."

"Anders, I believe he asked you a question earlier."

His gaze softens as he turns to her with sorrowful eyes. "I love you and if I could put you first I would…but Justice will not allow our cause to be second to anything."

Hawke steps back a bit, wavering at his words. "I know." Whether she is responding to his love or his acknowledgment that she'll never be first, the men don't know. "Anders, I need to speak with Fenris…privately."

He turns to gather his clothes and grumbles, "I'll be at my clinic," on his way out the door.

She falls to her bed in shock. Fenris sits beside her. "You deserve to be first in someone's life, to have him love you above all else."

"Why did you come here, Fenris?" she asks again, softly.

"I couldn't let him hurt you."

"_Like you haven't hurt me?"_ The words sting him, and she knows it.

"I-I'm sorry. Do you love him?"

"You don't have the _right_ to ask me such a question," her temper flares.

"Yes, I _do_. Since I left I've thought about you and…"

"And-and what? You never even explained why you left."

"I was afraid and a-a coward for not telling you…how I felt."

"So you think you can just march in here, _hit him_, tell me he doesn't _deserve_ me, and then what? What is it you're trying to accomplish?" Fenris stares at her, mouth agape, so she continues her tirade. "You're right, you're nothing but a _coward_, Fenris. You were a coward then for not telling me, and you're still a coward for not going after _what you want_. What _do_ you want, Fenris?"

He swiftly grabs her shoulders and crashes his lips against hers. The tension he felt in her slacks as she melts into his embrace. "I want _you_. I love you," he whispers.

Her anger gone, she looks up at him with liquid eyes. "You should have said so before," she whispers before pressing her lips to his again.


End file.
